Social Influence - Social Influence and Social Change Flashcards
(8 cards)
When does social change occur?
- When whole societies adopt new attitudes, beliefs and ways of doing things which become accepted as the norm
- Social change comes about through minority influence
- When a minority group adopts the 6 principles of social change they become very powerful and wide spread change in opinion can occur
What are the 6 Principles of Social Change?
- Drawing attention to the issue
- The role of conflict/deeper thought processing
- Consistency
- The Augmentation Principle
- The snowball effect
- Social Cryptoamnesia
Explain the 1st Principle of Social Change
Drawing attention to the issue
If we’re exposed to the views of a minority then it draws our attention to it, if their view is different, it causes a conflict which we want to reduce.
Example: In 1950s America, places like certain schools and restaurants in Southern states were just for whites - civil rights marches drew attention to the situation which provided proof of the problem.
Explain the 2nd Principle of Social Change
The role of conflict/deeper thought processing
We look at the minority’s arguement more closely as it creates a conflict with the majority view, which causes the majority to think more deeply about it.
Example: The activism of the marches meant that the many people who had accepted the segregation, began thinking deeply about the unjustness of it.
Explain the 3rd Principle of Social Change
Consistency
Minorities are more successful if when fighting for social change they are consistent. When a minority group expresses their arguements over time, they are taken more seriously because they are seen to believe in the cause.
Example: People took part in the civil rights marches on a large scale and even though it was a minority of the population, they displayed consistency over time.
Explain the 4th Principle of Social Change
The Augmentation Principle
If risks are involved when the minority puts across an arguement, the group is taken more seriously. If minority members are willing to take consequences for their views, their impact is increased.
Example: Freedom riders were mixed racial groups who got on buses in the South to challenge separate race seating - many were beaten which strengthened their message.
Explain the 5th Principle of Social Change
The Snowball Effect
When some people agree with minority group, the minority becomes more influential which results in more people converting to the minority view.
Example: Martin Luther King continued to press for changes that gradually got the attention of the US government and resulted in the 1964 US Civil Rights Act - resents change from minority to majority support for civil rights.
Explain the 6th Principle of Social Change
Social Cryptoamnesia
Public opinion changes over time until the minority view is accepted as the norm, but people forget where the idea originally came from. People have a memory that change has occured but don’t remember how it happened.
Example: There’s no doubt that social change has taken place in the USA but people have no memory of the events that led to the change.
